Categories

Meta

Lucas Carr (Snapper)

Last episode of Supergirl introduced a new character, who’s going to be one of the main additions to this season, replacing the now missing Cat Grant. In The Last Children of Krypton, finally Karagets her new job as a reporter, but her new boss, Snapper Carr, is not exactly enthusiast to have a kid with friends in the right place in his office, and proves to be an extremely tough cookie to deal with. The journalist, portrayed by Ian Gomez, is the chief of CatCo Magazine, and a Pulitzer winning reporter (the best Cat has ever known, apparently)…quite a big leap from the comics. Originally, in fact, Snapper Carr is just a sidekick to the JLA, and starts as a teenager with no particular talent, apart from always snapping his fingers when happy (hence his nickname). So, as usual, let’s see together who the original Snapper Carr is.

Lucas Carr was born in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, the son of John Carr. A perfectly normal kid in a numerous family, Lucas grew up with his brothers Jimmy and “Spitter” and his sister Janet. Growing up, he became known by everybody as “Snapper”, because of his habit of continuously snapping his fingers, especially when he was happy. A student at Happy Harbor High, his life changed completely the day the alien Starro the Conqueror took control of the minds of every single inhabitant of Happy Harbor…everyone but him, as he was apparently immune from Starro’s telepathy. When The Flasharrived in town to defeat the Starro’s deputy that had targeted it, he discovered the boy: intrigued by his natural telepathic shield, he asked him to come along to the other members of the Justice League of America, an occasion Snapper surely didn’t let go. Transported in no time to the rest of the JLA, Snapper was immediately examined by Green Lantern, who found out an interested thing: the boy’s hands were covered with lime, since he had been working on the family lawn during Starro’s attack. What seemed to be just a secondary detail proved to be essential, as Aquamanpointed out that many fishermen killed starfish using lime: being Starro a giant starfish, maybe that lime was what had prevented him from controlling Snapper Carr as well. The idea was worthy a try, and it actually proved to be a good one, as some lime was enough to poison Starro and to destroy him (at least, the deputy present on Earth at that time), thus foiling another invasion. Grateful for the help, the JLA made Snapper a honorary member of the team, giving him the official status of “mascot” of the League. Mostly he recorded the heroes’ adventures in a book, but he was also assigned to keep their hideout in Happy Harbor, the Secret Sanctuary, operative in their absence. Albeit powerless, Snapper Carr was a true member of the most powerful superteam on the planet.

Sometimes Snapper Carr also took an active part in the team’s adventures, such as when he posed as The Jokerin a plan to lure the Royal Flush Gang out. The real deal, however, didn’t take too well the fact he had an imitator. Soon after that, in Happy Harbor, Carr met John Dough, a man who took a liking in to the teenager and who became one of his closest friends. Snapper spent a lot of time with John, and he also told him how privileged he felt to be friends with the JLA, but John had a completely different point of view on superhumans, and slowly he convinced him that beings so powerful that could be considered gods were a threat to normal human beings such as them. Trusting and naive, Snapper Carr ended up being convinced by John’s words, and believing he was serving the “average man” he disclosed the location of the Secret Sanctuary (hidden within a volcano) to his friend…who revealed himself to be the original Joker, who destroyed the place. The Clown Prince of Crime, in fact, had manipulated Snapper into betraying his hero friends, so that he could wreak havoc as usual…and destroy another one of Batman‘s juvenile friendships, after killing his protégé Jason Todd. Obviously, having proved himself unreliable for the team’s safety, Snapper lost his membership and resumed his normal life, ridden in guilt. His past, however, always followed him wherever he went, and he was recognised everywhere as the “mascott”, even if he had left his hometown to continue his studies. He resumed his friendship with the League after a misadventure with the Key and the Star Tsar, and the heroes even found a job for him in S.T.A.R. Labs. Snapper’s life took another incredible turn the moment he was among the fifty people kidnapped by the alien race known as the Dominators: the invaders shot their prisoners with special guns, aimed to discover hidden metagene in their guinea pigs, killing the useless specimens; among the original number, only six survived…with Snapper being among them, now a metahuman. With his new teleporting abilities, Snapper Carr led the other five metas out of the Dominators’ lab, forming the group of the Blasters: after long following heroes, time had come to become one…

Lucas “Snapper” Carr is a cheerful and easy-going young man, who always thinks the best of people and tries to keep up the general mood. His good heart often becomes naivety, as he rarely understands when someone is trying to deceive him. As the leader of the Blasters, he’s able to teleport himself and others pretty much anywhere just by snapping his fingers, albeit due to the Dominators’ forceful transformation his powers are erratic, and often stay dormant for long periods of time. A normal boy projected into unnormal circumstances, Snapper is the link between the JLA and common humanity, especially young people…at least until he becomes a part of the amazing stories he’s been telling for years.